PDA

View Full Version : Nearly 20 Percent of US War Vets Have Mental Health Problems



European blood
10-09-2011, 07:18 PM
Massive numbers of troops have suffered serious physical injuries serving in the open-ended occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, but a new report provides some of the first insights into just how broad the mental harm of the war has been.

The study, by Veterans for Common Sense, shows that nearly 20% of the soldiers who have served in either Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from mental health conditions. For those unlucky enough to serve in both wars, the number grows considerably, with some 30% of them suffering from PTSD alone.

The group’s executive director said the government expected “50,000 new patients” for the VA in a 2003 report. The group projected that the figure would be over 1 million by the end of 2013.

The enormous ongoing costs of fighting the war cannot be underestimated, of course, but over the long-term it will likely be the costs of treating the casualties, both physical and mental, which will be the most expensive part of the past decade of adventurism.

http://news.antiwar.com/2011/10/04/nearly-20-percent-of-us-war-vets-have-mental-health-problems/

Piparskeggr
10-09-2011, 08:58 PM
My wife is dealing with PTSD and major depression from her participation in the 1st Gulf War.

Han Cholo
10-09-2011, 09:17 PM
War is no fun stuff. After seeing too much death, blood, feeling extreme paranoia, being awake for days so someone doesn't shoot your arse it's obvious your mental health will never be the same.

Piparskeggr
10-11-2011, 10:32 PM
War is no fun stuff. After seeing too much death, blood, feeling extreme paranoia, being awake for days so someone doesn't shoot your arse it's obvious your mental health will never be the same.

Luckily for me, the one shooting incident in which I was involved during my time in the service was short, very short...I think it lasted all of one minute.

The man I killed was a Cuban.

The man I wounded was a retired US Army soldier, hired by the CIA as a trainer for the Cubans.

It was a cockup.

I saw the US soldier a couple of years later; he and I spent several hours talking in the coffee shop on base. I deal with the feelings pretty well because he recognized me and reached out to me; professional to professional.

My wife has not had that balm.

Eldritch
10-12-2011, 01:46 AM
No wonder, really. 100% of my grandfathers had mental health problems because of their WW2 experiences.

Piparskeggr
10-13-2011, 12:41 AM
No wonder, really. 100% of my grandfathers had mental health problems because of their WW2 experiences.

It is quite possible. Many of the men who were my teachers and youth group leaders were WW2 and Korean War veterans. Very rarely did they talk about their experiences, save in the most general of dispassionate of terms.